American (CivRev2)
The American people represent a civilization in Civilization Revolution 2. Their color is indigo. Their leaders are John F. Kennedy and Lincoln. History The United States is young by Civilization standards, being barely more than 200 years old. The United States did not expand to reach its current borders and did not become a true world power until the middle of the 20th century. America was the first European colony to separate successfully from its motherland, and it was among the first nations to be established on the premise that sovereignty rests with its citizens and not with the government. Prior to the 1770s, the American colonists were loyal subjects of the British Empire, but a combination of taxes and ministerial mismanagement of the situation led to the outbreak of revolution in 1776. With the aid of France, American independence was gained after a long and bitter struggle. In its first century and a half, the country was mainly preoccupied with its own territorial exploration, internal development, and economic growth. But the spectre of slavery continued to divide the country between North and South, eventually erupting in a bloody civil war that lasted four years and consumed hundreds of thousands of lives. In the end, the Union was preserved and the power of the central federal government greatly strengthened compared to before the conflict. Following the Civil War, the nation entered a period of unprecedented growth. European immigration, westward expansion, urban growth, technological advances, and a host of American inventions - including the telephone, typewriter, linotype, phonograph, electric light, cash register, air brake and the refrigerator car - contributed to the American explosion. The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked the emergence of the United States onto the world's stage as a major - albeit reluctant - world power. Despite a strong isolationist streak the country was heavily engaged in the two World Wars of the first half of the twentieth century. Those wars were finally ended when the United States employed nuclear weapons against Japan in 1945. The Allied victory at the end of World War II left the United States as one of the world's two "superpowers." The communist Soviet Union and capitalist United States were ideologically hostile to one-another, and for the next half-century the world would endure the tense and dangerous "Cold War," one misstep away from devastating nuclear conflagration. Since the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989-91, the United States has been left alone as the world's sole remaining superpower. Rather than facing conventional armies on the field of battle, America is now challenged by terrorist groups who make no distinction between military and civilian targets. For all of its overwhelming economic and military strength, the United States will have to work together with other nations in order to meet the threats of the modern world. Fun Facts America is one of the most prosperous nations in history. In fact, California, a state in the western United States, is so economically powerful that if it were to become its own country, it alone would have an economy larger than those of Canada, Spain or Russia. America is the only country with states in all three major climate zones - Hawaii in the tropical zone, the mainland United States in the temperate zone and Alaska in the polar zone. Category:American